Why I Write - Vivia Oliver

 


We're pleased to have InScribe member Vivia Oliver join us as our Guest Blogger today.  She writes poetry, songs and stories.


If someone asks me what kind of poems I write, I tell them the ones God wants me to. I generally don’t write poetry from my own ideas. I feel that nearly all my poems are God inspired, especially the gospel poems which have been given to me through inspiration. There have been a few, not too many, that a friend has prompted by saying: why don’t you write a poem about that?  I will be listening to a sermon, a song, or be driving down the road and the words suddenly come to me, or at least the idea, the subject for a poem.

One poem that I wrote last fall came to me while I was driving down a quiet highway. All of a sudden I thought, Thank you, Lord, for the wide open road. That is what I named it. The lines just kept coming to my mind, and by the time I got home it was nearly all in my head. (I've included the finished piece below).


At times I have carried a small tape recorder so when I am driving I can record my words and not have to stop on the road side. The first poem I ever wrote was while I was driving and I had to pull off the road several times on the trip to write down my lines!

I often think of poetry, songs, or even stories while driving, listening to the radio. It is a relaxing thing for me, as long as the traffic isn’t too heavy.

Pictures are another thing that have inspired me to write stories. I can analyze a picture and come up with a story quite quickly. I have written several stories from pictures in my house.Events with animals are another lead for me to write. I enjoy animals, especially horses.

Thank the Good Lord

Thank the good Lord for the wide open road
And for a saviour to help me carry the load
For bridges to take us safely over water, not wet
That cross rivers in the direction I want to get

I wanted to be a trucker in my younger days
Now I drive a lot, and am familiar with byways
Thank the good Lord for the wide open roads
And the big trucks which carry the loads

The scenery so beautiful; leaves painted by God
The skies which could only be spread out by God
The Saskatoon bush standing by a gate post
Reminds me of Peter, the Holy Gate host

Thank God for keeping the deer in the ditch
And the other cars passing without a hitch
I feel like I’m driving to eternity
As Jesus keeps Satan from catching up to me

The sign posts along the road tell us where to go
The Bible has a word for us, so we know how to grow
Thank the good Lord for the wide open road
And for a saviour to help me carry the load

Vivia Oliver, September 2012